Thermometer dispenser and sterilizer



United States Patent Ofifice 3,236,588 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 3,236,588THERMOMETER DISPENSER AND STERILIZER Edwin E. Emerson, 106 E. Pike St.,Osakis, Minn. Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,607 2 Claims. (Cl. 21-87)This invention relates to dispensing devices, and in particular todispensers for storing, sterilizing, and dispening clinicalthermometers, although the invention is not necessarily limited to thisparticular use.

Many of the clinical thermometer dispensers and sterilizers presentlyavailable have certain disadvantages associated therewith. Many simplyconsist of a bath of sterilizing fluid into which a number of thethermometers are haphazardly immersed with the physician or hisassistant having no way of knowing which thermometers were last used andwhich have been in the sterilizing solution for the longest period oftime. As a result, a thermometer is frequently immediately reused,without having been in the sterilizing bath a sufficient length of timeto permit proper sterilization thereof. Many also require the user toinsert his fingers into the sterilizing solution to remove a thermometertherefrom, thereby causing inconvenient wetting of the fingers andcausing contamination of the sterilizing solution. Others have separatecoventional covers for the receptacle holding thel thermometers. Thesecovers are usually inconvenient since a place must be found to set themon when they are removed from the receptacle and they must then be lo-'cated, picked up and reinstalled on the receptacle after a thermometeris removed therefrom or returned thereto. Due to the inconvenience ofhaving to repeatedly remove and replace these covers, they frequentlyare not replaced on the receptacle after each dispensing operation andwhen replaced are frequently not replaced properly so as to properlyseal the receptacle resulting in excessive evap-' oration of thesterilizing fluid.

In addition, the covers are frequently lost or misplaced. Still othersof the prior art devices are complicated and expensive in constructionand difiicult or awkward to manipulate.

Therefore, an important object of my invention is to provide a novelthermometer dispenser and sterilizer which overcomes the aforementioneddisadvantages.

Another object is to provide a dispenser and sterilizer which is simpleand inexpensive to make and easy to operate and which normally maintainsthe thermometers in a completely submerged condition in a bath ofsterilizing fluid and which enables the thermometers to be raised out ofthe bath when dispensed so as to be conveniently available to the user.

Still another object is to provide a novel dispenser and sterilizerwhich is designed to hold a plurality of thermometers and which permitsidentification of the last used thermometer returned to the dispenser toinsure that one of the other thermometers which has been in thesterilizing bath a longer period of time will be next used instead ofsaid last used thermometer.

Still another object is to provide a novel sterilizer and dispenser ofthe type described in which the dispensing action causes substantialagitation of the sterilizing solution and increases the cleansing actionthereof, thereby shortening the time necessary to effect propersterilization.

A still further object is to provide a novel thermometer dispenser andsterilizer which includes a thermometer holding rack and a dispenser capor cover hingedly connected thereto for raising and lowering said rackinto and out of the sterilizing bath, said cap being designed to assumean out of the way position and to serve as a counter Weight for holdingthe rack in raised position for convenient dispensing of thethermometers.

Still another object is to provide a dispenser of the type abovedescribed in which the rack and its thermometers may be lowered into thebath and the cap returned to its normal properly seated position bysimply flicking the cap to unbalance the dispensing relationship betweenthe rack and the cap to permit the rack to fall freely under theinfluence of gravity into the bath and pull the cap with it as it movesdownwardly into its properly seated position.

Still another object is to provide a dispenser of the type abovedescribed having guide means for automatically guiding the cap intoproperly seated position.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a dispenser of this invention inopen dispensing position;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the dispenser of FIG. 1 in closedposition;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the cap;

FIG. 5 is a side view partly in section and partly in elevation ofanother form of my invention; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 5.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings for a betterdescription and understanding of this invention.

Considering first the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1through 4 inclusive, the dispenser shown comprises a vertically disposedcylinder 10 which is open at the top and closed at the bottom andconstitutes a receptacle or container for housing a bath of sterilizingfluid or liquid, said cylinder having a base 11 for maintaining it instable upright position.

The container is provided with a cover unit C which includes a cap 12having a circular depending lip or flange 12a which fits over andencloses the upper end of the cylinder to properly position the cap onthe tube and seal the interior thereof.

The cap has mounted thereon a readily graspable operating knob 13 whichis secured to the cap by means of a sleve 31 mounted in the bore 13a ofthe knob and having a flared lower end 3111 underlying and engaging theunderside of the cap. The upper end of a shaft or bolt 14 is inserted inthe sleeve 31 and extends downwardly beneath the cap, the bolt beingheld in place in in the sleeve 31 by means of a set screw 15 threadedlymounted in the knob and passing through the sleeve 31 and adapted toengage the shank of the bolt whereby the cap, knob and bolt function asan integral unit.

Beneath the cap the shank of the bolt has mounted thereon and radiallyextending therefrom four equi-spaced gusset shaped fins or guide members16, the downwardly and inwardly inclined edges 16a thereof being adaptedto engage and ride upon the upper edge of the cylinder 10 so as to guidethe cap as it returns to its normal seated closed position on thecylinder and center it properly with respect to the cylinder so that thecap will automatically assume the proper closed seated position of FIG.2.

The lower end of the shank of the bolt is tapered as at 14a and hassecured thereto and depending therefrom an eye member comprising anelongate rod 17, the lower end of which is looped back upon itself toform an eye 17a for hingedly suspending the thermometer carrying frameor rack R therefrom.

The thermometer carrying rack R shown is designed to carry sixthermometers T, it being understood that the rack may be designed tocarry any number of thermometers desired. The rack shown includes a topplate 18 having an upstanding eye 19 secured thereto which is hingedlyengaged with the eye 17a to hingedly connect the rack with the coverunit and suspend it therefrom. This provides a universal joint betweenthe cover unit and the rack whereby the cover unit can be swunglaterally in any direction relative to the rack to locate it on one sideof the rack and uncover the thermometers to facilitate their removalfrom the rack. The rack also includes a base plate 20 for supporting thelower ends of the thermometers, which base plate is secured to the topplate by means of the vertical frame members 21.

The rack also includes a plurality of vertically disposed sleeves 22which are generally circumferentially arranged about the periphery ofthe rack for freely receiving the thermometers and holding them ingenerally vertical upright position.

In use and operation, the rack is loaded with thermometers and loweredinto the cylinder which is preferably filled with sufiicient sterilizingfluid so that the thermometers will be completely immersed and submergedin the fluid, the rack and cover unit assuming the position shown inFIG. 2 when the dispenser is closed and not in use. To dispense athermometer, the knob 13 is simply grasped between the fingers and thecover unit and rack are simultaneously raised whereby the rack andthermometers are lifted to an elevated dispensing position such as shownin FIG. 1, in which position the upper ends of the thermometers extendabove the cylinder It! so that they can be readily grasped and removedfrom the rack, without requiring the user to insert his fingers into thesterilizing solution, the cover unit being swung or tilted laterally touncover the thermometers and facilitate their removal. A thermometer maythen be removed from the rack while the cover unit is still being heldand the cover unit and rack immediately lowered to the closed positionof FIG. 2, or the cover unit may be swung approximately 90 to one sideas shown in FIG. 1 so that the rod 17 assumes a substantially horizontalposition and rests upon the upper edge of the cylinder and therebyserves as a balance arm or lever with the weight of the cover unit beingsufiicient to counterbalance the weight of the rack and the thermometersso as to hold and maintain the rack and the thermometers in the raisedexposed position of FIG. 1. With the cover unit in this out of the wayposition, the thermometers can be readily removed from and returned tothe rack.

When the rack and its thermometers are ready to be returned to thesterilizing bath from their retained dispensing position of FIG. 1, thecover unit is simply flicked or raised upwardly to unbalance therelationship between the rack and the cover un-it whereby the weight ofthe rack and the thermometers causes the rack to fall downwardly bygravity into the bath, pulling the cover unit with it into the closedposition of FIG. 2. The tapered end 14a of the bolt and the inclinededges 16a of the guide members insure uninterrupted continuous guidedmovement of the cover unit into properly seated position and eliminatesunnecessary manipulation of the cover unit to insure that the cap isproperly installed on the cylinder. Because of the symmetricalarrangement of the guide members, the cap will be guided automaticallyinto proper position from any position about the circumference of thecylinder. The pivot or hinge joint between the rack and the cover unitenables the cover unit to be located in any position outwardly of thecylinder for holding the rack in exposed position. The movement of therack and its thermometers upwardly and downwardly through the bathcauses substantial agitation of the bath and improves the cleansingaction thereof. Thus, the cover unit during use remains associated withthe rest of the dispenser and does not have to be specially placed noris there any danger of losing or misplacing same and automaticallyreturns to its proper place. The fluid bath cushions the fall of therack and prevents undue jarring of the thermometers and possible damagewhich might result therefrom.

The maintenance of the thermometers in separate compartments alsofacilitates the successive use of each of them to prevent immediatere-use of the same thermometer. Thus, for example, the rack may beprovided with special markings, or one less thermometer may be installedin the rack than the number of retaining sleeves, thereby always leavingone vacant. If the thermometers are consistently successively removed inthe same direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise about the rack,starting with a thermometer immediately adjacent the vacant sleeve, andreturned to the previously vacant sleeve, a thermometer will not bere-used until all of the other thermometers in the rack have been used,

Attention is next directed to the form of invention shown in FIGS. 5 and6. The dispenser shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has the same container and coverunit as the dispenser of FIG. 1 hereinbefore described. The dispenser ofFIG. 5 also has a rack R which is basically similar to the rack R ofFIG. 1 except that it is additionally provided with novel means foridentifying the last used thermometers, that is, those last returned tothe dispenser after use, in order that the user may select a thermometerwhich has been in the sterilizing fluid for a longer period of time thanthe last used thermometer in order to have the most sterilizedthermometer available for use. The rack R includes a main verticalsupporting frame member 23 having an eye 24 attached to the upper endthereof for hinged attachment thereof to the eye 17a of the cover unit.-In the form shown, the frame member 23 has four vertical cylindricalsleeves 25 mounted thereon for freely receiving the thermometers andmaintaining them in upright position, the sleeves being disposed inadjacent pairs on opposite sides of the central frame member 23. Therack also includes a base plate 26 secured to the lower end of the framemember 23. This base plate has mounted thereon a pair of upstandingspindle supporting elements 27 which are disposed on opposite sides ofthe center member 23. A pivot pin or spindle 28 extends between and issupported by said elements 27 and is located between the adjacent pairsof sleeves on each side. A pair of thermometer supporting plate members29 and 29" are pivotally or tiltably mounted on the spindle 28 onopposite sides of the center frame 23, a tiltable member being providedfor each pair of thermometers on the same side of center frame 23 in theform of the invention shown, the tiltable members being pivotallymounted on the spindle 28 and retained thereon by means of a sleeve 30secured to the underside of the tiltable members and enclosing thespindle 28. Because of the tiltable nature of the members 29 and 29',the pair of thermometers which each of them supports are alwaysmaintained at different elevations due to the members 29 and 29' beingtilted in one direction or the other. During normal usage, the highestor most elevated of the thermometers is to be removed and used. Afteruse, the thermometer is returned to its particular sleeve and permittedto fall upon its respective member 29 or 29. The force of the fallingthermometer causes the raised side of the members 29 or 29' to be forceddown so as to tilt the members in the opposite direction, therebyraising the other thermometer and lowering the just used thermometer.Thus, when the rack is raised again, the physician will know that thelowest thermometer is the one last used and will then select the highestthermometer as the most sterile of the two.

Thus, for example, in FIG. 5 apair of thermometers T and T are shownsupported by the tiltable member 29. In the solid line pisitions shown,the member 29 is tilted downwardly to the left with the thermometer Tbeing the most elevated of the two thermometers and ready to be selectednext. After thewthermometer T has been used and returned to the rack,the force of the falling thermometer T causes the member 29 to tilt inthe opposite direction so as to tilt downwardly to the right with thethermometers and the member 29 then assuming the broken line positionsof FIG. 5 with the thermometer T being the most elevated of the twothermometers and ready to be selected the next time.

The rack and cover unit of the dispenser of FIG. 5 cooperate and operatein the same fashion as the rack and cover unit of FIG. 1, with the coverunit operating to hold the rack in raised exposed condition and beingautomatically guided back to its proper seated position on the cylinder.

From the foregoing, the advantages of this invention are readilyapparent. The dispenser is relatively simple and inexpensive to make andis very easy to operate. The thermometers are raised to dispensingposition and exposed by lifting and tilting the cover unit and can bemaintained in that position by the counter-balancing weight of the coverunit. The cover unit when disposed to one side of the cylinder does notinterfere in any way with access to the rack and the thermometers andpermits the thermometers to be easily withdrawn therefrom or reinstalledtherein. In addition, the cover unit remains in a handy position so thatit will not be lost or misplaced and when the physician is finishedusing the dispenser the entire unit can be closed and the thermometersresubmerged by simply flicking the cover unit upwardly, with the capbeing automatically returned to its proper seat on the cylinder. Thetiltable thermometer supporting members enable the physician to easilyselect the cleanest of the thermometers and avoid immediately re-usingthe thermometer last used. The raising and lowering of the rack and allof the thermometers through the bath during each dispensing operationresults in repeated dunking of the thermometers and repeated movementthereof through the solution together with a repeated agitation of thebath which results in superior cleansing and sterilizing of thethermometers. The cover unit and rod connecting same with the rackprovide a rack lifting and holding handle which is convenient to holdand manipulate, and which has flexibility of movement relative to therack.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for storing a pair of thermometers in an antisepticsolution and alternately presenting the thermometers for use,

comprising a receptacle adapted to carry a quantity of such solution,

a rack in the receptacle and having a pair of upright mounting sleevesin fixed position and to receive having opposite thermometer supportingends respectively underlying said sleeves to support thermometersconfined in said sleeves, said plate having an upper surface permittinglimited sliding of the thermometers therealong within the limits oflateral movement of the thermometers in the sleeves,

pivot means on the rack and supporting said plate midway between theends thereof whereby the plate will be retained in tilted position whensupporting only one of such thermometers on one end thereof, the weightand impact of a second thermometer dropped in a sleeve and onto theother end of the plate producing tilting of the plate and causing saidfirst thermometer to be raised and presented for use as the plate istilted, said thermometers sliding downwardly along the inclined plateand moving laterally in the sleeves sufficiently when the plate istilted to respectively decrease and increase the distances between saidfirst and second thermometers and said pivot means whereby said firstthermometer will remain in raised position,

means on the rack limiting tilting movement of said plate in bothdirections and within acute angles from horizontal,

and operating means on the rack and extending upwardly therefrom to bemanually gripped and manipulated to raise the rack in the solution forcausing the thermometers to emerge from the solution.

2. The thermometer storing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said operatingmeans includes a cover normally supported upon the upper edge of thereceptacle sidewall and also including a rod afiixed to the cover independing relation at the center of the receptacle and connected to saidrack,

and rigid rod and cover guiding means affixed to and depending from thecover within the receptacle and having downwardly facing guiding surfaceportions converging in a downward direction toward said rod andextending radially outwardly in multiple directions toward the peripheryof the cover to guide along the upper edge of the receptacle sidewallwhen the rack and rod are dropped into the receptacle, whereby to guidethe cover into seated and concentric engagement with the receptaclesidewall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,361,842 12/1920Evslin 3 l2--73 1,676,090 7/1928 Johnson 21-87 1,850,524 3/1932Whittaker 21-105 X 2,417,626 3/ 1947 Blocher 2l87 2,805,454 9/ 1957Ihrig 2l-89 X FOREIGN PATENTS 662,207 3/ 1929 France. 561,205 10/ 1932Germany.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

FRANK CACCIAPAGLIA, JR., DONALL H. SYL- VESTER, Examiners.

1. APPARATUS FOR STORING A PAIR OF THERMOMETERS IN AN ANTISEPTIC SOLUTION AND ALTERNATELY PRESENTING THE THERMOMETERS FOR USE, COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE ADAPTED TO CARRY A QUANTITY OF SUCH SOLUTION, A RACK IN THE RECEPTACLE AND HAVING A PAIR OF UPRIGHT MOUNTING SLEEVES IN FIXED POSITION AND TO RECEIVE SUCH THERMOMETERS WITH LOOSENESS OF FIT AS TO FREELY RECEIVE THE THERMOMETERS AND PERMIT FREE SLIDING OF THE THERMOMETERS IN THE SLEEVES AND WHEREBY TO ALSO ALLOW LIMITED LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE THERMOMETERS IN THE SLEEVES, AN ELONGATE AND TILTABLE THERMOMETER SUPPORTING PLATE HAVING OPPOSITE THERMOMETER SUPPORTING ENDS RESPECTIVELY UNDERLYING SAID SLEEVES TO SUPPORT THERMOMETERS CONFINED IN SAID SLEEVES, SAID PLATE HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE PERMITTING LIMITED SLIDING OF THE THERMOMETERS THEREALONG WITHIN THE LIMITS OF LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE THERMOMETERS IN THE SLEEVES, PIVOT MEANS ON THE RACK AND SUPPORTING SAID PLATE MIDWAY BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF WHEREBY THE PLATE WILL BE RETAINED IN TILTED POSITION WHEN SUPPORTING ONLY ONE OF SUCH THERMOMETERS ON ONE END THEREOF, THE WEIGHT AND IMPACT OF A SECOND THERMOMETER DROPPED IN A SLEEVE AND ONTO THE OTHER END OF THE PLATE PRODUCING TILTING OF THE PLATE AND CAUSING SAID FIRST THERMOMETER TO BE RAISED AND PRESENTED FOR USE AS THE PLATE IS TILTED, SAID THERMOMETERS SLIDING DOWNWARDLY ALONG THE INCLINED PLATE AND MOVING LATERALLY IN THE SLEEVES SUFFICIENTLY WHEN THE PLATE IS TILTED TO RESPECTIVELY DECREASE AND INCREASE THE DISTANCES BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND THERMOMETERS AND SAID PIVOT MEANS WHEREBY SAID FIRST THERMOMETER WILL REMAIN IN RAISED POSITION, MEANS ON THE RACK LIMITING TILTING MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AND WITHIN ACUTE ANGLES FROM HORIZONTAL, AND OPERATING MEANS ON THE RACK AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM TO BE MANUALLY GRIPPED AND MANIPULATED TO RAISE THE RACK IN THE SOLUTION FOR CAUSING THE THERMOMETERS TO EMERGE FROM THE SOLUTION. 